The Hague - "Store of the Future" is the retail innovation lab of the Netherlands located in New Babylon, The Hague. The smallest, innovative department store where visitors can take a look at the future is a fact! This initiative by Q & A Research & Consultancy and the Municipality of The Hague offers a platform to consumers, retailers and partners to explore how the physical retail environment of the future will look like. More than 15 retailers and more than 60 partners to test out how technology can make shopping easier and more fun in the future. A laboratory and shop in one, because buying products is certainly possible.

Viziware will support this initiative as Founding Partner by contributing its interactive gesture technology to multiple retail solutions in store. This will allow visitors to interact with content by hand-movements without touching the display or shopping window.

The Hague TECH
With this years’ theme ‘24/7 Smart connectivity’, The Hague hosted the International Tech yesterday, with keynote speakers from the USA and UK, as well as high profile tech personalities from The Netherlands.
With both inspirational and informational talks, speeches of young entrepreneurs and several interactive side-events, we are pleased to conclude that this years’ The Hague TECH was once again a great success.

WFIA/NCH International ICT Matchmaking event
Parallel to the general The Hague TECH event, the WFIA organised together with RUSSOFT an International ICT Matchmaking event in close cooperation with NCH, in order to accommodate interaction between both national and international companies in the field of ICT. This matchmaking event is part of a series of matchmaking events initiated by WFIA together with RUSSOFT since 2011.
The event, opened by the WFIA CEO Marleen Zuijderhoudt (see left picture), provided a perfect opportunity for ICT companies to get in touch with potential partners. From sharing visions and interests to doing plain business, we were delighted to see the positive interactions between various companies from all over the world. It is this kind of events that really underline the reputation of The Hague as international hotspot for IT companies – better known as Smart City.

Viziware
On invitation by the WFIA, Viziware was present at the ‘The Hague TECH inspiration event’ with the theme ‘Smart Cities’. Key-players in this industry presented their vision and solutions about this subject to the audience. Viziware’s vision on Smart Cities is to present real-time content to inhabitants and tourist at multiple locations in the city and to allow them to interact with the information.Smart City Info Points allow passers-by to surf through information on-line, on-demand, giving authorities the possibility to update relevant content on the fly. For this event Viziware transformed and presented the ‘Den Haag Marketing’ website as a Smart City Info Point, allowing the audience to interact with ‘live’-content without touching the display. The audience was very enthusiastic to see and use this new technology where, based on hand-gestures, they could find information about their favourite spot or event in Den Haag.
Apart from Viziware, the companies Acrodis, Arcadia, Kentor, Sybedge, Solvo, Lanit tercom, Reksoft, E-ngineers, Techshino, First Line Software were present at The Hague TECH to participate in the matchmaking and showcase their products.

Viziware is expanding its presence on the Dutch advertising market

Viziware continues the active exploration of the European interactive advertising market. In March 2014 the company launched a bright new project in the Netherlands, creating multifunctional interactive storefront in the historic city centre of Delft called "an open air museum" and "the absolute centre" of Holland.

The newest interactive advertisement segment is gaining recognition among leading manufacturers and retail chains with every year, becoming not only a fashionable but also the most effective tool of advertising strategy. The company has created Viziware, a line of modular solutions that allows advertisers to offer their potential customers a wide range of interactive features and to choose the best options of screen advertising. The Viziware system can transform digital advertising into gesture-operated interactive content on any screen or display case both indoors and outdoors. The solution can also collect advertisement performance statistics, which may become a rich and reliable source of marketing data for the advertisers. The installations created by the company experts are unique. Every client of Viziware receives an individually tailored solution that covers all the needs of the advertiser.

The increasingly popular products include showcases for museums, theatres, and shops. One of the latest projects of the company demonstrates the broad advertising, informational, social and educational opportunities that can be implemented using an interactive showcase and well thought-out content. The project was implemented in the city centre of Delft, the Netherlands at a vintage costume studio shop (http://somethingextra.nl). Barbara van Gelder, the studio owner interested in the history of her town, was inspired by the idea of creating an interactive showcase telling the history of the building that used to be on the site of the studio. The building was associated with the life of the famous Dutchman named Hugo Grotius. He was an outstanding statesman in the late XVI - early XVII centuries, widely known for his achievements in law, drama, philosophy, and poetry. Barbara's idea was supported by the Delft authorities and the City Museum with an exhibition devoted to Grotius. The interactive application showcase educates the visitors about the life of Hugo Grotius and also tells them about the services provided by the vintage costume studio shop in a fascinating way. Visitors can virtually "leaf through" the colourful presentation of the biography, and can even "become" the great Dutchman by photographing themselves in the photo frame (a face cut-out) of Hugo’s portrait and instantly share the image on Facebook.

This example demonstrates only one side of the Viziware interactive features. Depending on their goals, the advertisers can add catalogues of goods and services to the interactive content showcases, create promotional videos, place detailed information about the company, design trademark games, and more. The portfolio of projects completed by Viziware confirms that interactive advertising is actively helping companies attract new customers, support brand recognition, involve consumers in new forms of interaction and allows them to analyse and consequently improve this interaction.

During the 2nd Dutch-Russian ICT Business Event, held 16 October 2013 at the World Trade Center The Hague, the trade association for Russian and Belarusian ICT and software developers officially launched their activities. Present at the event was a trade delegation from Russia representing government and ICT enterprises.

"Innovation in ICT takes place through cooperation between different areas of expertise. This cooperation increasingly transcends national borders and thus cultural and political differences. Eastern European and Russian parties prove interesting partners, largely due to their high level of knowledge." This was the conclusion of the panel discussion headed by Nikolai Puntikov, President of the First Line Software from St. Petersburg. The panel also discussed the opportunities and practical challenges of cooperation, namely an increasing demand for ICT services and labor shortages in the ICT sector in the Netherlands. In addition to the panel discussion the Russian ICT companies had the opportunity to meet Dutch ICT entrepreneurs through match-making and one on one conversation.

This ICT business event is an initiative of the WestHolland Foreign Investment Agency and is organized in collaboration with Netherlands Council for Trade Promotion and the City of The Hague.

“I’m very pleased with the successful and fruitful conference we held in The Hague. Above all it provided reliable evidence of the real interest for cooperation from both sides and proved the cultural proximity of the Russians and the Dutch. We decided to open our EU representative office in the Hague because of the favourable business climate, but what is more important - because of the friendly and energetic attitude we encountered both in public officers and organisations and in local businesses. I’m sure the office of Russoft in the Hague will let the Dutch and the European entrepreneurs get a broader and unbiassed image of Russian ICT industry and prospects for business opportunities,” Says Valentin Makarov, the President of RUSSOFT.

Henk Kool, Alderman for Economic Affairs for the City of The Hague and Chair of the Board of Participants of the WestHolland Foreign Investment Agency, concluded: "The establishment of RUSSOFT is an asset to The Hague. Such a trade association in your city is a wonderful sign. This is especially the case when it relates to a high-quality, innovative company.”

This Dutch Russian ICT business event is a follow up to the event held in The Hague in November 2012, where RUSSOFT was, for the first time in Western Europe, represented as well. During a reciprocal visit to The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in June 2013, the City of The Hague, the WestHolland Foreign Investment Agency (WFIA), RUSSOFT and AIRR (Association of Innovative Regions of Russia) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in which the establishment of a presence of RUSSOFT in The Hague was included. As a result of the event in 2012 and subsequent return visits there are now three Russian ICT companies operating in the West Holland region: First Line Software and Acrodis in The Hague and Viziware in Sassenheim.

About Viziware
Viziware is a joint venture between Computer Vision Systems, a Russian technology company with roots at the University of St. Petersburg and Emeago, a Dutch business development company serving clients entering the European market. To support the launch on the European market, Viziware sales & marketing headquarters will be located in Sassenheim, part of WestHolland Region.

RUSSOFT - Russian Software Developers Association
The establishment of RUSSOFT in The Hague is the first branch of the ICT branch organisation outside Russia. RUSSOFT represents a network of 70 of the most technically skilled ICT companies engaged in software development in Russia and Belarus. Due to the high level of education in mathematics and physics, these countries’ have advanced knowledge and an innovative capacity in the field of information technology.

WestHolland Foreign Investment Agency (WFIA)
The WFIA assists international companies in establishing, expanding or relocating their operations to West Holland. The WFIA was founded in 2000 by the cities of The Hague, Leiden, Delft and Zoetermeer and the Chamber of Commerce of The Hague and the Haaglanden. The municipality of Lansingerland joined in December 2008. The WFIA is also supported by the Province of South Holland.

Viziware, Russian/Dutch developers of a gesture recognition system for interactive advertising and data gathering, has signed a letter of intent with the Inventive Retail Group. In accordance with the agreement, Viziware will install interactive window displays at the group’s retail outlets.

Inventive Retail Group runs a network of single-brand stores for re:Store, Samsung, Sony, LEGO and Nike. The interactive window displays, created by Viziware on the basis of unique gesture-recognition technology, will make visiting the stores an even more interesting and engaging experience. Static displays behind the shop window glass will be replaced with screens, equipped with a pair of video cameras. Images on the interactive screens will attract shoppers and draw their attention to the window. The two cameras, like human eyes, recognize the visitor’s interest and send a signal to the system, then the window invites the customer to use gestures to control it. Pop-up hints allow the shopper to easily learn to control the window and independently select the activity they want: a variety of different games, new product collections, company information, promotional videos and much more.

As well as offering entertainment to store visitors, the window provides the director of the business with current statistical data about which part of the available content visitors are most interested in, the types of customer that spend time in front of the advertising screen, and how long they interact for. In this way, Viziware is addressing several of the company’s challenges, the main of these being: attracting customer interest, powerful consumer interaction and gathering statistics on advertising effectiveness.

Viziware would like to thank IRG for choosing the company to supply this solution. Viziware is confident the collaboration will be beneficial to both companies and strengthen their position on the Russian market and internationally.

Company of the Month July

Viziware making digital advertisement interactive and measurable

Advanced gesture recognition powers and measures ad response
Gesture recognition software
Viziware’s unique technology has the capability to register real-time passing street traffic and to capture important information about potential buyers. This provides retailers and advertisers with exciting new opportunities based on accurate insights into consumer preferences. The result is the ability for advertisers to create more finely-tuned marketing and advertising, which leads to enhanced sales performance and brand loyalty.

Viziware’s sophisticated gesture recognition software enables digital advertisers to reach a new level of interactivity with consumers. Using standard cameras and a computer running Viziware software, the system dynamically detects consumer responses to advertisements – either indoor or outdoor which are digitally projected on almost any surface. Han Verbaas, General Manager of Viziware explains, “This is the solution that marketers and digital industry have been waiting for. Advertisers are enabled with tools to communicate with potential buyers and to clearly focus on their messages – either indoor and, for the first time, outdoors. Today, this ground-breaking European technology is available to advertisers around the globe”.

Award Winning
In May this year Viziware’s Gesture recognition technology was launched at the Interact Expo in Barcelona. At this event Viziware won the award “Interact Innovation Camp (I2C)” for most innovative Technology. Interact is the leading European event for Online & Interactive advertising Industry annually held in Barcelona.

Why WestHolland
“After participating in the Dutch-Russian IT matchmaking event in The Hague in November last year, the Netherlands turned to be the best place to locate and launch our technology into Western-Europe. The advice and support provided by Westholland Foreign Investment Agency, together with the partnering of EMEAGO encouraged us to take this step”, says Katherina Ufnarovskaia, Business Development Manager Computer Vision Systems.
Managing Partner Emeago, Hans de Kruijs adds, “Some obvious reasons to locate Viziware headquarters in the Leiden area are; emerging business area close to Schiphol, central location in the heart of the business triangle (Amsterdam, Utrecht and Rotterdam) and access to high-level resources from Leiden University. A major driver in our ‘location’ decision is the continuous support and cooperation with the professionals of WFIA”.

About Viziware
Viziware is a joint venture between Computer Vision Systems, a Russian technology company with roots at the University of St. Petersburg and Emeago, a Dutch business development company serving clients entering the European market. To support the launch on the European market, Viziware sales & marketing headquarters will be located in Sassenheim, part of WestHolland Region.

Digital advertising on displays or billboards in shopping centres, railway stations or bus stops is now interactive and measurable. Advanced gesture recognition by Viziware provides retailers and advertisers with exciting new opportunities based on accurate insights into consumer preferences. Viziware, a joint venture between Dutch Emeago and Russian Computer Vision Systems, will shortly open office in Sassenheim, near Leiden.

Using an advertiser’s digital advertising content, Viziware makes it interactive, and then collects analytics about that interaction. By combining software with motion sensors, Viziware dynamically detects consumer responses to advertisements projected on almost any surface. Indoors or out, and in any lighting or weather conditions, Viziware captures exhaustive purchase intention analytics that provides retailers and advertisers with new insights into consumer preferences. The result is more precise marketing and advertising, leading to increased sales performance and brand loyalty.

The technology was developed at the University of St. Petersburg and uses standard cameras connected to Viziware software. Branches of LEGO in Russia are using the technology already. CBS Outdoor Netherlands showed interest in the technology and is intending to coorporate with Viziware. The WestHolland Foreign Investment Agency introduced CVS to Emeago and advised and assisted CVS with the expansion to the Netherlands.

Han Verbaas, General Manager of Viziware explains: “This is the solution that marketers and digital industry have been waiting for. Advertisers are enabled with tools to communicate with potential buyers and to clearly focus on their messages – either indoor and, for the first time, outdoors. Today, this ground-breaking European technology is available to advertisers around the globe.”

Interact Barcelona
Viziware’s technology was enthusiastically received during the introduction on the Interact expo in Barcelona in May this year. During the Marketing and Interactive Excellence (MIXX) awards Viziware picked up the Interact Innovation Camp (I²C) award for most innovative technology. Interact is the essential expo where leading European advertisers, industry experts, agencies and media owners gather for digital insight, debate and inspiration.

“After visiting The Hague for a matchmaking event in November last year the Netherlands turned out to be the obvious location for launching our technology in Western Europe. The continuous support by the WFIA and the prosperous corporation with Emeago encouraged us to take this step forward”, according to Katherina Ufnarovskaia, business development manager of Computer Vision Systems.

About Emeago
Based in the Netherlands, Emeago supports foreign companies with entering the Dutch and European market. Emeago’s services include marketing and sales activities as well as back office services whereby the companies are relieved from setting up office, entering the market and the progression of starting up abroad. Emeago has recently assisted companies from Russia, Bangladesh, India with the market introduction.

About Computer Vision Systems (CVS)
In 2011, CVS emerged from a Lanit Tercom, a start-up company of the University of St. Petersburg active in pattern recognition-based software. In the recent past Lanit-Tercom was successful in the automotive industry with sensors for the detection of vehicles and objects in traffic. CVS is part of the Skolkovo innovation program of the Russian government.

WestHolland Foreign Investment Agency (WFIA)
The WFIA assists international companies in establishing, expanding or relocating their operations to West Holland. The WFIA was founded in 2000 by the cities of The Hague, Leiden, Delft and Zoetermeer and the Chamber of Commerce of The Hague and the Haaglanden. The municipality of Lansingerland joined in December 2008. The WFIA is also supported by the Province of South Holland.

VIZIWARE Wins Award at MIXX Award at Interact

Barcelona, 24 May 2013 - Viziware, which launched a flagship new product-line that creates interactive digital advertisments and accuracy measures impact, picked up industry awwrd at the MIXX Awards which took place Interact in Barcelona. Viziware's their innovation solution, which enables consumers to interact with screens in an out-of-home environment, demonstrates that innovation doesn't happen only in the Silicon Valley but is also very presented in the European economy.

Alan Heureux, on behalf of IAB Europe said, "I2C Award, which acknowledges innovation and creativity and celebrates entrepreneurship, is an important part of the continued evolution of a strong wave of European technology driven solutions. IAB Europe continues to seek out the best in class and put them in the spotlight. We whole heartedly applaud Viziware's team for their excellent invention".

Viziware's sophisticated gesture recognition software, demonstrated today to participants at Interact, enables digital advertisers to make content interactive. Viziware also supports advertisers by collecting analytics about interactions with potential buyers. Using standard cameras and a computer running Viziware software, the system dynamically detects consumer responses to advertisements - either indoor or outdoor which are digitally projected on almost any surface.

Han Verbaas, General Manager of Viziware thanked IAB for the acknowledgement. "As new-comers in this industry, it was unexpected and nice surprise to receive this award from Alan Heureux. It confirms our vision that this technology fits into the media industry and pushes forward the frontiers», adding that, «We are proud to be a European joint venture, with roots in both Russia and the Netherlands".